Recently, sport fishing has placed a greater emphasis on the use of conservation techniques to preserve and enhance the quality of a fishery, thereby perpetuating enjoyment of the sport. To this end, various government agencies have imposed limits on the number of certain species of fish which may be taken, as well as minimum size requirements on certain species. In addition, many anglers voluntarily practice what is called "catch and release," in which an angler releases his catch unharmed soon after landing it. Catch and release is urged where sport fishing pressure is high, and is even mandatory in some waters.
One of the deficiencies in practicing catch and release, however, is that it requires the angler to handle the fish to remove the embedded hook. Often, the angler may damage the fish through such handling by inadvertently removing a portion of the mucus coating that protects a fish from infection, or damaging sensitive gill tissue. Also, lifting a fish from the water may cause inner organs to gravitate downward, thereby causing internal injury to the fish. Due to mishandling of hooked fish, it is estimated that nearly one-half of the fish released either die or are sufficiently weakened to become a subject of predation.
To enhance immediate release and minimize traumatic handling of the fish, barbless fishhooks, hooks with retractable barbs and other forms of tackle, have been developed. Due to the curvature of a barbless hook, however, it is still necessary to remove the fish from the water to some extent to effect hook removal. This is especially true where the fish has completely swallowed the bait and is gullet-hooked rather than lip-hooked. Therefore, prior to the present invention, a need existed for a tackle device which would allow removal of a hook from a fish while minimizing handling of the fish. In addition, a need also existed for a device which would facilitate removal of the hook from the fish without removing the fish from the water. A need further existed for accomplishing the foregoing objectives for gullet-hooked fish.